WATERS OF THE US RULE VOTE EXPECTED

Our friends at ICSC in D.C. have let us know that H.R. 1732, “The Regulatory Integrity Protection Act of 2015,” was introduced in the House April 13.

This legislation would require the withdrawal of the current proposed rule to redefine “Waters of the U.S.,” and would direct EPA and the Corps to re-propose a new rule after transparent and robust consultation has occurred with affected governmental and private sector stakeholders. The bill passed on April 15 in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on a mostly party-line vote (Democratic Representatives Sean Patrick Maloney of New York and Cheri Bustos of Illinois broke party lines to vote in favor of the bill).

The rule was sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on April 3 for interagency review and a timeline for the rule’s finalization is currently unknown. Similar legislation is expected to be introduced in the Senate in the coming week, and a vote on this House legislation is expected on Thursday, April 30.